A Warm Embrace
by Monkeywand
Summary: Darkness. Fire. Cold. Soft. Snug. "Despite his cocky, flirtatious nature, she knows he is,deep down, affectionate." Tesla/Magnus fluff. One-Shot.


**Disclaimer:** Y'all know the drill...

**A/N:** This came from me being bored and my friend giving me the following prompts: _Darkness. Fire. Cold. Soft. Snug._ So I dedicate this fic to Claire. Not beta-d so all mistakes are mine...

A Warm Embrace

It's dark and light all at the same time. The moon is only a sliver in the sky, hiding behind a few scattered clouds. The stars shine brightly in only a pattern they know. The trees whisper in the wind, and far off she can hear the call of a wolf looking for a mate.

She sits in front of the fire, watching the flames dance. They waver back and forth in some unknown rhythm, licking at the logs making them snap and crackle. The heat makes her face flush, and the smoke makes her eyes water. She shivers, the night time breeze wrapping around her exposed back.

He flits over to her, wrapping a blanket around her shoulders. A similar blanket is wrapped around his own, although he barely feels the cold. She smiles gratefully at him. He smiles back, a wide smile that almost looks scary in the flickering light. She internally shakes her head. He can't help it. It was just in his nature.

He sits down beside her, leaning up against the tree he'd 'accidentally-on-purpose' felled earlier. He wraps his arms around her, effectively pulling her into his lab. She snuggles into his embrace, enjoying the fact that she didn't have to hold herself in reserve. Despite his cocky, flirtatious nature, she knows he is,deep down, affectionate. She was prone to waking up, when she did sleep, as his personal teddy bear, his arms and legs wrapped around her body.

He was quite different from John in that regard. John didn't mind the occasional snuggle, but as his nature became more twisted, the less he liked the affectionate contact. The thought of Jack-The-Ripper made her sad, and she cast him from her mind.

A soft pressure on her head makes her look up. He kisses her again, this time capturing her lips in a sweet embrace. She moans softly, pouting slightly when he pulls back. He smirks at her, happy to get the desired response out of her.

She sticks her tongue at him, resorting to childishness. He chuckles.

"So, what did you tell Heinrich and Wilhelm?" he asks once she'd settled back into his embrace.

"Nothing. Just said I off to see an old friend in the mountains. Left Will in charge. Told him to contact Biggie if anything went wrong."

"Oh, Helen, you sneaky girl." He is happy at keeping her surrogate son and protege out of the loop.

She rolls her eyes. She didn't need to let the boys know her every move, but she did let her old-time shaggy friend she'd be out of contact for a couple of days. She'd knew he'd guess where she was going anyway, especially after catching Nikola scoping through her wine cellar again.

When he'd sprung the idea on her at first, she was suspicious. It had taken a few more days of him badgering her for her to give in, after making him promise there would be no nasty surprises. So far so good, but she was still cautious. They were only into day two of their five day holiday after all.

"This is nice," he comments, after they'd fallen silent again.

"Mmm," she hums, too content from the combination of the fire, the wine and his warm embrace.

He chuckles, a deep rumbling sound that makes her whole body vibrate.

"Sleep, my dear," he whispers, tightening his around around her.

"Not sleepy," she mumbles. "Just snug."

"Who'd have thought," he teases, and she slaps his thigh.

"I can always leave," she threatens, turning to face him. "I know of a couple of flying abnormals who live not too far from here that'll give me a lift home if I ask."

"You wouldn't."

"I just might."

He pouts, looking a lot more like the five-year-old he often acted like instead of the century-old genius that he actually was. She stifles a giggle, and he glares at her, making her giggle harder.

"Think that's funny do you?" he growls.

"Yes."

"Fine." He tickles her, digging his fingers into the sensitive spots on her side. She gasps and tries to squirm away, but his legs hold her trapped.

"Please, stop," she begs. "Please." He digs his fingers in one last time, and she shrieks.

"Ow!" he winces.

"Your... fault..." she gasps, breathing heavily. He grins cheekily. She grins back at him, stretching up to kiss him briefly.

She settles back, snuggling further into into him. His arms hold her tight, loving the fact that he can freely hold her without interruption.

"So, there may be another reason we came to this particular spot," he hedges, keeping his gaze forward.

"Nikola," she says disapprovingly. She sighs. "Tomorrow. Let this just be us for now."

"Tomorrow," he echoes, admitting to both of them, he didn't really want to move either.

They sit like that, watching the fire, weave and bob, devouring the kindling, until all that is left is glowing embers. They sit there, wrapped in each others embrace, snug beneath the layers of blankets, as the moon makes it's way across the sky.

Soft. Snug. Not at all cold in the dissipating darkness.

* * *

Hope y'all like.

Lemme know what you think.

Monkeywand


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